Are You Cultivating Your Millionaire Mindset?

October 26, 2017/0 Comments/in Business, Entrepreneurship, Health & Nutrition, Personal /by Kathleen Deggelman

I watched a video from Eric Worre the other day, and there was one thing he said that really hit me… “Mowing the lawn myself means losing $100 or even $500.00 an hour.”

What does that mean?

Well, while he’s outside mowing the lawn, he is trading his time for a $15.00/hour task… time that could be spent nurturing high-value offerings, growing his business, and contributing to his long-term financial, personal, and professional success.

The lesson? To uplevel and truly cultivate a millionaire mindset, we must weed out non-essential tasks, and make sure we’re spending the majority of our time where it counts. For many of us, this means we can hire someone to do the things we don’t like to do anyway! I just treated us to our first housekeeper at our BC home. It felt great!

Let me be clear about one thing – the millionaire mindset applies to financial goals, of course, but it encompasses far more than that. It means defining what wealth is in all areas of our lives – personal, professional, and spiritual. How do I want to spend my days now and in the future? I love to cook so I will never hire someone to do that for me, but lots of people don’t love to cook and there are services that deliver almost prepared meals to your door now. My niece loves that!

You should KNOW what your time is worth, and be focused on high-level activities that truly move your life and business forward. Don’t be worried about life becoming all work and no play – when you’re tapped into your true power there is a certain sweetness and enjoyment to life that is worth the sacrifice! When we are lucky, work doesn’t actually feel like work. That is the goal for me!

What kinds of activities help us to cultivate a millionaire mindset?

Here are 4 categories you should be aware of…

What You Read:

Reading should be #1 on your list if you plan to develop a millionaire mindset. When we read, we expand what is possible – literally allowing ourselves to picture futures we didn’t even know were available. That’s a gift we don’t want to waste. I keep a basket of books in my living room that inspire me and any given day, I can pick one of them up and even spending 10 minutes reading makes a difference. I feel calmer, balanced and inspired all at the same time.

So, when was the last time you picked up a book and finished it? If you feel strapped for time, commit to reading 1 book a month. This can be accomplished in just 10 minutes a day!

Here are some of my personal favorites to get you started:

Money – Master The Game – By Tony Robbins

Start With Why – Simon Sinek

The Four Hour Workweek – Tim Ferris

Big Magic – Elizabeth Gilbert

Go Pro – Seven Steps To Becoming a Network Marketing Professional – Eric Worre

The War of Art – Steven Pressfield

Who We Spend Time With:

We are the sum total of the 5 people we spend our time with – who are your 5?

I encourage you to actually write this down. Consciously acknowledge who you allow to have the most influence over your life. Sometimes we need to think more about who we are spending all our time with. Are they inspiring and going somewhere in their life? If not, it doesn’t mean you don’t still love them but maybe you need to add someone that is. Our friends are the family we choose.

We need positive, growth-oriented, loving, and constantly-evolving relationships in our lives, and we need people who will challenge us to be our best. That doesn’t mean you cut good friends and family out, it just may mean it’s time to widen your circle of influence.

Choose Daily Affirmations:

Our thoughts can be our biggest influencer. Using daily affirmations will help to align your heart and mind with your most important goals. It will give you laser-sharp focus. I say mine out loud in the shower. (multi-tasker that I am…)

What affirmations would you like to use on a daily basis? Write them down now.
If you can’t think of any, just spend a few minutes searching “affirmations” on Pinterest or Google. You’ll find plenty of gold. You can also purchase affirmation decks, and simply consider a positive thought every morning during breakfast.

Click here for a page of my favorite affirmations.

Invest In Ongoing Education:

Growth is challenging, and we all need good teachers. I recommend making educational goals for your year, just like you do for your financial goals. Set aside time and money to invest into yourself. Plan to attend conferences, speaking events, author events… anything that is high-value and aligned with your ultimate financial, spiritual and life goal.

The more you learn, the more effective you will be at capturing dreams in the real world.

For instance, there is still time to get a ticket to the Go Pro event next month. If you want the chance to learn from the likes of Tony Robbins and Eric Worre, and many, many more, there’s still time. Click here for more info.

Remember, your mindset is like a muscle – if you develop it, it expands. If you don’t, it weakens. Affirmations, reading and listening, learning, who we spend time with – all these things help us develop an authentic millionaire mindset.

When our mindset is aligned with our goals, and our goals are aligned with high-impact activities, then MASSIVE achievement is RIGHT around the corner. That’s a promise ;). I know from first-hand experience. Never EVER underestimate the power of your mind.

P.S. I hope you found my article helpful on Cultivating Your Millionaire Mindset. If you liked this blog post, I think you will love my blog post on Avoiding 4th Quarter Overwhelm.

How To Avoid 4th Quarter Overwhelm And Finish Your Year Strong

September 27, 2017/0 Comments/in Business, Entrepreneurship, Health & Nutrition, Personal /by Kathleen Deggelman

The calendar year is coming to a close in less than 4 short months (September is almost done!), and with that, so is the final quarter of 2017 for our businesses. I don’t know about you, but with the launch of Jeunesse in India, my final quarter for 2017 is adventurous and packed FULL of travel. In other words, crazy busy. Despite that, I really believe that a last-minute wrapping job on an otherwise fantastic gift of year can ruin your outlook on your achievements and leave you scrambling to get it all done before the holidays.

That’s not how I want to feel, and that’s not how I want anyone else to feel either!

I’ve found that 4 simple, yet powerful steps help me walk through my last quarter in a positive state of mind, full of gratitude for what’s happened, and excitement for what’s next. Forget empty new year’s resolutions – let’s get a concrete hold on our future successes.

Create An Accomplishments List. This is something that spills over from the professional realm and into the personal. You probably already know that I love the physical act of writing down my wins from the year in all areas of life.

This is something that you can include the entire family in too! Everyone can add to the “Wins List”. Keep it on the refrigerator for the remainder of the year, and add to it as you think of additional awesome things you and your loved ones were able to conquer together.

It keeps spirits so HIGH throughout the year-end bustle.

Organize Your Physical Environment. This doesn’t have to be a chore. This can be a joy. Especially when I consider all the hours that I spend in my workspace. A clean, inspiring, and functional home office is a gift that just keeps on giving. When I’m able to work un-interrupted with water and snacks nearby, it changes everything! Maybe organizing your space includes a fresh coat of paint on the walls? Investing in that standing desk? The possibilities are endless.

Set Up New Systems & Replace Outdated Organizational Tactics. There are lots of things in our lives that sit around, neglected and under-utilized. But it really doesn’t take much to clear the deck, and create systems that work for you, not against you.

Is your bookkeeping software still working for you?

Do you have an inbox that makes you slightly nauseous?

How long has it been since you had a look at your finances?

Do you still have a filing cabinet (physically or virtually) full of who-knows-what?

These tasks probably fall under the “swallowing a frog” category, but if you block off time to accomplish them before beginning the new year, the mental and emotional burden is lifted, and your self-confidence will be too.

Define Your Forward Momentum. Defining your unique vision is the key to all accomplishment, in my opinion. And by define – I don’t mean loosely color in – I want you to set SMART goals for 2018, and spend the time to chunk those goals down and divvy them up over the next 4 quarters of the year. Doing this early, (and then reviewing quarterly) is the absolute best way I know of to keep my productivity soaring, and to avoid busy-work.

This is also where you can ask and answer some FUN and CRUCIAL questions. Things like…Is it time to uplevel? Can I afford to hire some help come the new year? Am I at the point in my business where a virtual assistant makes sense? What new money goal do I want to set for myself? If you’re clear that these things are apart of your vision for 2018, you can wrap up your last quarter proactively.

This grab bag of practical end-of-year tips ensures that I have the help/systems/headspace needed to lead myself, my team, and my family into the new year happily, and highly motivated. I hope it does the same for you!

P.S. I hope you found my article helpful on Avoiding 4th Quarter Overwhelm. If you liked this blog post, I think you will love my blog post on Getting Back Into a Routine After Vacation.

How To Get Back Into A Routine After A Vacation

August 23, 2017/0 Comments/in Business, Entrepreneurship, Health & Nutrition, Personal /by Kathleen Deggelman

Given how long it has taken me post our vacation to get this blog article out, I know first hand it isn’t easy to get back to work after an amazing vacation. The summer months are the most popular time for vacations – especially with our kids out of school. A trip out of town, or even a “staycation” is well-deserved for everyone and it’s truly essential for us to maintain, not only our sanity, but also our productive time! I think we all know that not taking any time off can be just as bad for our health as it can be for our careers. Research shows that by being able to take a vacation or time off makes all of us a better worker. So don’t feel guilty about taking that vacation. It’s for your own good. 🙂 Our Tahiti trip early this summer certainly was great for us. I was just talking about some of the life long memories with our oldest daughter.

Getting back to work after that incredible trip can be rough for anyone whether you’ve taken a trip to Disneyland or spent time on your couch enjoying a Netflix binge. If you’re like me, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to spring right back into action on that first day back to the grind. Mentally, you’re likely still in vacation mode and forcing it may only make things harder on yourself. Take these gradual steps toward becoming a productive member of your office again:

Take an Extra Day: Getting back into the thick of it can seem like quite the task so it’s best to give yourself some time, perhaps a day or two, to get you mentally back into work mode. Some of us just may not be quite ready to get back to work, especially if we’ve been out of town. Take that extra day off when you’re back home to reset your clock. When you do get back to work, start to ease into your tasks. If possible, cross off some of the easy things during that first day or two so you don’t get burnt out or feel overwhelmed with work when you’ve just returned. If you’re anxious and excited to get right back to it after a few days out, all the better but you will benefit by easing back into it the first day or two.

Resist the Urge to Multitask: Multitasking is a necessary evil. It’s something we all have to do. But multitasking can put additional stress on the brain, and this can quickly unwind all the relaxing you just did on vacation. When you’re back in the office after vacation, you will have hundreds of unread e-mails to reply to, piles of paper to sort, and tasks and phone calls to return. Your instincts may kick in and you may start to attack everything at once. However, this will set you back and make you wishing and thinking about your next vacation. Check off one item at a time to help you regain focus and set priorities. That first week back, looks at your tasks and set up a weekly schedule to spread your work throughout the week. Having one massive to-do list can seem like an uphill battle; however, a day-by-day schedule of achievable tasks seems less daunting and can provide a more cheery outlook. One thing I have discovered is that the pile of emails isn’t that bad. A lot of it has gotten worked out by the time you get back and some of it just wasn’t that important anyway. Prioritize your most important tasks and get those done first.

Get Back to Your Routine: Vacation mode is a real thing and after a week or two away from work, all the things you knew off the top of your head will be pushed under the newly created memories of your time away. But don’t fret, all of your login passwords and client’s names will come back. Prior to taking vacation, you had your existing routine. It was that specific way that you did things to make your day easier. Maybe you went for a run in the morning and on Friday went out with your team. Whatever it was that you regularly did, whether it was at work, at home, or just around town, find that comfort again and it will go a long ways towards helping you feel more receptive to being back.

Appreciate the Time Away: Keep in mind that just because you’re back to being productive and taking orders doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to appreciate the experiences you had on vacation. It’s important to take the time to be appreciative to take time off. If you took pictures, feel free to share them with your teammates. Tell stories about the experiences you had or any interesting people you may have met in your travels. Do some more reading about the places you traveled. There are a number of ways that enable you to extend your vacation mentally. There are always things that I do on vacation that I think I am going to bring some of this back with me. Even if it is just sitting outside for 10 minutes with that chai latte, it all helps. The point of life is to create a life that we don’t need to run away from. I am building a life that I love every day. Just these little reminders of being able to travel or take time off can truly make you more appreciative of your business, which, in the end, makes it all possible.

P.S. I hope you found my article helpful on Returning To Your Routine After A Vacation. If you liked this blog post, I think you will love my blog post on Taking Better Care Of Yourself.

How To Achieve A Summer Time Work-Life Balance

July 7, 2017/0 Comments/in Business, Entrepreneurship, Health & Nutrition, Personal, Success, Training /by Kathleen Deggelman

For many of us, the summer months can be the busiest (and most fun) time of the year. It is certainly my favorite season! As the demand for work and personal time increases, you may be finding yourself struggling to maintain a good balance between managing your business and having time to enjoy those summer nights. (It doesn’t get dark till 10 pm where I spend most of my summer….) While being busy with work can possibly mean committing upwards of 40+ hours a week, the dedication you show to your business still warrants a few July and August weekends for yourself.

As summer has arrived with it’s long days, it’s important for all of us to find ways to manage our workload so that our work days don’t fill up all that extra sunshine. Here are a few ways that have helped me to achieve a healthier work-life balance during the summer months:

Manage Your Time

Easy to say right! Although organization is essential to time management, and I’ll touch on that later, being able to delegate responsibilities is also key to managing a healthy work-life balance. Administrative tasks, such as answering calls and emails, can typically carve out a large portion of your day. It’s important to set aside time for those administrative duties so you can focus on other aspects of your business. Set aside a 60 minute slot per day and dedicate it solely to messages and emails instead of trying to stay on top of them throughout the day. If you do it all day, guess what you have gotten done at the end of the day – email and messages and probably not the big rocks or the really important projects. If you devote 60 minutes only each day you work to email and messages, you will find yourself saving time that could be better used doing other tasks, be more productive and get to the actually more important parts of running your business. I worked at IBM years ago and I can remember management talking about how email was going to save us time. Not so much…If you still find that you need assistance in managing communications, consider hiring a seasonal employee to help you get through the summer season and give yourself a much needed break. A family friend or neighbor could be ideal. Maybe they aren’t helping you with emails, but they are helping you get to some of the other projects on your place. Sometimes we just have to get those things (like cleaning out the garage, my husband’s personal favorite) off our plate and off our list!

Plan & Prep

Being able to prepare ahead of time for the expected ebbs and flows of summer will help you settle into a better work-life balance. Review your business’s past performances so you can plan ahead and set strategies for a smoother transition and one that will free up some time for you! The ability to forecast expected performance can help your business transition from off-seasons to peak seasons. Taking into account possible contingencies like a slow season or surge in business can help you achieve that healthy work-life balance. My company is launching India right now so you can imagine how fun and exciting that is. We are taking advantage of this during the summer AND finding time to enjoy family and sun and beach too.

Organize

One of the easiest methods to free up your time and enjoy summer is by being organized. While this may seem to be the most obvious, many of us find it a struggle to manage the workload as peak seasons demand increases. To maintain a seamless operation and, even better, maximize your valuable time, be sure to update your calendar, schedule every meeting, and keep all of your paperwork in order. You may not be able to plan everything and there will be unexpected meetings or issues that will surface and demand your immediate attention; however, creating a detailed day-to-day schedule can help you remain on track and get you out of the office and out by the pool! Focus on the 3 to 5 most important things every day. I love lists but I am learning to use lists less and focus more on the big stuff. Life is too short to be tied to a list of 100 things to do everyday. Many of those things don’t really need to be done and sometimes we use those lists to get the simple stuff done and not the most important. I use a priority list: What are the 5 most important things to get done this week? And then I schedule them out during the week.

Me Time

Taking time for yourself, both physically and mentally, is important to enjoying the summer and it helps you to be happier, and more focused at work when you do work. It’s quite possible that you’re faced with new responsibilities daily. Managing your business may guarantee a certain level of stress, and it’s always important to take steps to help ease workplace stress so that you remain focused on your business. Being able to create a space away from your business is also important because reclaiming those weekends or at least part of the day, lets you recharge, reconnect with loved ones and friends, and remember your “why” for working as hard as you do. If you feel the need to check emails on a Saturday or Sunday, limit it to one or two times a day. We aren’t meant to be attached to technology and our to do’s 24/7. That isn’t how I want to live my life. Your passion for work shouldn’t come at the expense of having a personal life. Work should be used as a way to bring new vibrancy to your life and to help you grow as an individual AND allow you to create the life and lifestyle you wish with the family and friends that you adore.

Operating your own business does, however, mean that there will be some personal sacrifices. If summer is your favorite time of year, make sure you are enjoying the sunshine too. I am going kayaking later today…Growing any kind of business needs time and dedication but it’s also important to find those ways that can help you manage a healthier work-life balance. It will never be perfect and it will always be something to work on – but it is definitely worth it!

P.S. I hope you found my article helpful on How To Achieve A Work-Life Balance. If you liked this blog post, I think you will love my blog post on 5 Ways To Stay Focused During The Summer.

Taking Better Care of Yourself

February 22, 2017/2 Comments/in Business, Health & Nutrition, Personal, Success, Training /by Kathleen Deggelman

We have all been there before. That feeling of guilt when you take a day off or just take some time to disconnect from the world. After our annual convention in Las Vegas last week I was definitely tired! Don’t worry. Most people feel that way when they feel the need to make time for themselves. There’s no need to feel guilty. Guilty is rarely a useful emotion. It’s important to know how to take care of others but just as important for you to take care of yourself. If you don’t hesitate to help friends and family, you shouldn’t feel guilty when it comes to helping yourself. The idea of self-caring can sometimes have a bad stigma attached to it and it shouldn’t. There’s no need to view yourself as weak if you find yourself needing a “mental vacation” or a real vacation. Here are a few items to keep in mind if your stress levels are on the rise.

Learn to recognize the signs of distress in your mood and your behavior: It’s okay to admit that everyone has signs that tell them they’re either close to, or at, their breaking point. It could be fatigue or anxiousness. Maybe your behavior is off and you could be having mood swings or just irritable. If you feel you’re at this point, stop and take some time to regroup and look into what may be causing you to act out of character. Sometimes it is too much work and not enough fun, or a lack of exercise, or not enough sleep or even not enough of healthy food. There is a reason for that new term called “hangry”.

Try to maintain your sense of humor: Humor can often be overlooked to help ease your stress levels. It’s important for our well-being that we laugh and laugh often. I have even set it as a goal for me this year to laugh more, to be silly more. It can also have a way to help put things into perspective. Laughing at your favorite movie or TV show or even personal situations can help improve your mood and release some stress. My Mother has a very funny sense of humor and I am sure that it helped her every day with the raising of 9 children! My Dad always enjoyed my Mom’s sense of humor too. We still do. If you can lighten a mood with a smile, a giggle, a tickle, a silly moment – everyone will be better for it.

Balance your personal needs and work: It won’t do you any good if you recognize your stress but fail to do anything to remedy it. Be sure to limit your work life so it doesn’t take over with your home life. Doing so will allow you to go back to work with a clearer mind and invigorated attitude with just that small extra mental break. The key is to take this time prior to reaching your breaking point, take time to reset yourself by going for a walk or just sitting down and taking a much deserved moment with yourself. We are all addicted to too busy. I know I certainly am!

Find a workplace that encourages self-care: This may not be feasible in all cases but if your workplace environment is causing much of your stress it may be time to find one that won’t. There are some workplaces that encourage stress-free cultures. If you are an employee, try to find a place where they help employees celebrate successes, insist on a work-life balance and provide them with positive feedback. If you are building a home based business full-time, make sure that your office in your home is inviting and easier said than done, set office hours. Treat your home office like you would if you were getting paid by an employer. In our network marketing business, we are both the boss and the employee. When we like our office surroundings, we all work better and more happily!

Spend plenty of time with friends & family: Spending time away from work can be an effective way to help restore you and reestablish a sense of being yourself. Try to surround yourself with people that fill you up, that complement you, that get you and love you and that you can laugh with. The saying we are the sum total of the 5 people we spend all our time with is so true. Think about the 5 people you spend all your time with – is it moving you towards the life you dream about? Do the people you associate with help you meet the needs of others? Just being in the presence of those that you love and admire and that feel the same way about you can help take the stress off as they provide a sense of familiarity which helps most people feel more content in our lives.

Remember if you fail to take care of yourself, this may cause you to make some decisions that could put yourself and others at risk. It could be as small as an email sent to the wrong person or being distracted when your attention was needed or losing some of what makes you vital and healthy. It is actually unselfish to take the time to care for yourself. When we are at our best is when we can give our best to others too. Enjoy your well-being!

P.S. I hope you found my article insightful on Taking Better Care of Yourself. If you liked this blog post, I think you will love my blog post on Managing Overwhelm and Creating Success in your Business.

Give Thanks with a Gratitude List

November 23, 2016/1 Comment/in Business, Giving, Health & Nutrition, Personal /by Kathleen Deggelman

As I sit here on my couch in San Francisco and begin to write this very blog, I am grateful the sun is shining outside. And with the American Thanksgiving holiday just upon us (depending on when you read this), it’s the perfect time for all of us to take some time and think about all the things that we are thankful for in our lives. To help me, I’ve decided to make a “Gratitude List” and I suggest you to do the same. It only takes a few moments and you will love how you feel after you make the list!

Gratitude. A feeling of appreciation or thanks.

Take a moment after reading this blog and jot down your own list. Showing lots of gratitude will bring forth more of what you want. It is a proven universal principle. I know this works! I keep a gratitude journal handy and make notes on a regular basis. You will get more of what you want if you are thankful for what you have. This is talked about in the bible, new age thinking and even in science too. This may not come naturally to you and that’s okay. It just means you need it more. 🙂 We all have much to be thankful for, even if you are going through a tough time. Good happens all around us – not always easy to see, but when we look it is there! Happy Thanksgiving all! (Even if you aren’t celebrating tomorrow with turkey – I wish you lots to be grateful for.)

To help you, here are my 10 reasons why I’m giving thanks:

I am thankful for my health. Incredibly grateful for this!
I am thankful for my husband, Mark, for being such a sweet and positive and always smiling man! And to our three amazing children.
I am thankful for my beautiful, large extended family. 20 of us are gathering tomorrow!
I am thankful for all the great people I’ve met all around the world and all the adventures that have come during my travels.
I am thankful for the experiences of spending the majority of my time in two beautiful countries – the USA and Canada.
I am thankful for books as they are my adventures without a plane and my knowledge without a classroom.
I am thankful for the success in my Jeunesse business, and having the opportunity to help others reach success and to better their lives.
I am thankful for doing work that I love and being able to share that work with some terrific people.
I am thankful for the opportunities that I have been given and the ones I have been able to give to others.
Lastly, and most importantly, I am thankful for my parents and grandparents. I have been very blessed!

Please take time this holiday season for all the loved ones in your life. I love the quote: “life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” And I am dancing! Now off to go bake 4 pumpkin pies! Have a great rest of the week and I will talk with you soon.

P.S. I hope you find my post useful on giving thanks with a gratitude list. If you liked this blog post, I think you will love my blog post on How Being Grateful Leads to Success.

5 Reasons Why Vacations Are So Important

August 18, 2016/0 Comments/in Business, Health & Nutrition /by Kathleen Deggelman

Many of us dream about the next vacation or holiday, but we often don’t act upon our desires. We follow travel accounts on Instagram, and we comment on how we would love to go see the beautiful destinations we see, but we don’t take enough steps to actually get there. Why is this? What is really going on? Taking a vacation is extremely important in finding balance and happiness in your life and enhancing productivity in your business. When you take this time for yourself, you allow yourself time to reset, recharge, and you’ll come back more productive, more inspired, and more YOU. You are actually ready to take on the world again! We just got back from an extended family vacation to Santa Cruz. We have gone for the last 9 summers. It is such a great chance to catch up with our family and our loved ones. There have been years where we had 6 blow up beds on the deck and over 25 people spending the weekend. Other years, family and friends come and go throughout the week. Lots of sun, ocean time, too much ice cream and cocktails….I love vacations and want to share with you five reasons why a vacation is an important and fun necessity in your life:

1. YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS DESERVE YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION. Working from home means you can always be “ON”.

Downtime gives you an opportunity to reconnect and rediscover your loved ones, and this is truly important in life. They need it, they deserve it, and you need to give it to them. Provide your full and undivided attention, and budget for it so that the experience is a magical one. Be generous for this allotted time. It’s the time to make up for any late nights, time away on business travels, etc. It’s important not to use these days off cleaning the house, or finishing overdue projects. Think skiing. Think Tropics. Think seaside cottage retreat. Think beach house and camp fires. And s’mores. 🙂 Your family and you will be more rested and ultimately grateful.

2. FOR THE MEMORIES AND FUN YOU WILL HAVE

There’s a special feeling you get when you grab your family photo album and relive the wonderful memories over and over. Memories are something we hold most dear. Our elders will tell us it is the memories they remember that are the most meaningful things to them. We cherish the good times, remember and hold onto them forever. We must remember as entrepreneurs that if we are doing something that isn’t making us money, that’s okay! The memories you create are invaluable, and could generate many happy returns for you. Life is more valuable when filled with memories and experiences!

3. VACATIONS KEEP YOU FRESH. New experiences rev your motor, keep you healthy (stress is #1 health problem) and help you avoid burnout.

People are taking less vacations overall. According to a study published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 9 million people in the USA took a vacation in July 1976. Today, it is closer to 7 million. Shockingly, a 2012 study of American people discovered they left 9.2 vacation days unused! Too many of us walk around, stressed, overworked, and burned out. We work ourselves to the bone. Consider it your medicine, for you, your business, and your family. When you return, you’ll find everything rolled along fine without you, you’ll be recharged, and ready to take on the world. Taking a vacation gives you the chance to renew your energy, find balance, re-align, and broaden your horizons. This opportunity gives you the chance to indulge in your own needs for a select amount of time. When you return, the results will show in increased productivity, and a positive new outlook. And who doesn’t love views like this!

4. VACATIONS HELP YOU TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE

You can bet if you take a vacation, you’ll be more productive than ever when you get back in the swing of things. Once you return, you’ll more than likely work harder and catch up on overdue tasks. According to a recent article published by The New York Times:

Research says that a lot of that has to do with the way humans are made. “The importance of restoration is rooted in our physiology. Human beings aren’t designed to expend energy continuously,” The Times reported. “Rather, we’re meant to pulse between spending and recovering energy.”

Vacations help to give you the opportunity to get away from the usual routine, you’ll meet new people, eat new food, sleep differently and more. It shakes everything up! You begin to see things differently, think outside the box, and allow yourself to try new things. Funny, how when I am home, I go to bed too late but I have noticed that on vacation I can finally start a new routine where I go to bed at a better and healthier time. I love all the time we get to spend outdoors during vacations. We played in the ocean every day!

5. YOU’LL COME BACK INSPIRED

When you give yourself the chance to relax, you open other creative parts of your brain that you may not be using on a daily basis. Bring back inspiration (and perhaps some new ideas) when you return to reality. As you’re laying on the beach, you may envision and manifest your business’ future. This is essential, yet sometimes difficult during the daily grind. Vacations let you think to yourself for uninterrupted periods of time. When you allow yourself the opportunity to think about something else other than your daily routines commitments, you open your mind up to new possibilities. I love sitting on the beach or a gorgeous deck thinking about what do I want the next year to look like and what am I going to do differently. I also get to read more on vacation because it is such a great escape into another world.

It is vital you start changing your perception about taking time off from work to vacation. Reverse your logic and tendencies to perceive a vacation as indulging in life, but rather, focus on the benefits vacationing can offer you for your general overall happiness and your business will be more likely to thrive too!

These important vacation tips are yours to share with your team! I hope that it helps you recharge and helps your business flourish. Do you have a vacation tip you want to share? Post it in the comments below!

P.S. I hope my 5 Reasons Why Vacations Are Important article was helpful to you. If you liked this blog post, I think you will love my blog post on How To Work With A Long Distance Team.

How to Successfully Work With Long Distance Team Members

June 17, 2016/2 Comments/in Business, Health & Nutrition, In the Spotlight, Uncategorized, Wealth Building /by Kathleen Deggelman

If you want to build a BIG business in the network marketing world, you need to have a huge team. That means building teams all over the country and all over the world. There is truly only so many people we can bring on board in our immediate markets, so mastering the art of long distance team management is one sure fire way to accelerate your mlm business. However, working with people from every corner of the world has its challenges. Here are my best tips for successfully working with long distance team members.

Set Up Regular Check Ins

Setting up regular check ins with my team has been extremely helpful. A lack of communication in your business is going to cause major problems and will not make you more money. I like to give my regular check ins a set structure. We make a list of tasks, goals and objectives that we discuss during our phone calls. Then the following week, we go over that list and make new tasks and goals. This prevents things from falling through the cracks and gives your team the moral support and guidance they needs as they build their network marketing business.

Provide the Right Tools

Since you cannot be there in person to physically provide materials or advice, build a digital library of tools that can be easily shared. This will make your job SO MUCH EASIER. The more replication you can produce the better. That is key to building quickly. Your team is going to do what you do, not what you say. However you share the products and opportunity, always remember your prospect is thinking “So this is what I need to do.” The easier and quicker you make it the more people will also think “I can do this!”. That is why a digital library of tools for easy reference is so important! If every time you reach out to a prospect you have to search on what to send and where is that link, etc… Well, you can see how that would break down pretty quickly. Very important to remember you are just the messenger of the tools, not the message itself. Think about what this means – you are delivering the message meaning the tool, not the actual message. For example, your prospect wants to know about the comp plan. You deliver the tool – a quick overview of your company’s compensation plan and then answer questions after they have watched. Think about how much faster that is that you being the one to share over and over again what the actual compensation plan is. You have to think speed and efficiency.

Video Chat Regularly

It’s 2016, time to get hip with technology! I love using Google Hangouts and Skype to meet with my long distance team members. I am also checking out Zoom now. It’s so much more personal than a phone call and you can learn a lot more about their personality by seeing their expressions. What’s app is a great app that works really for long distance communications too. You can also record your video chats with your team and share them with teams in other locations. Again, regular communication is key. We are building relationships and even though we can’t see our long distance friends and teammates all the time in person, these tools will help them feel like you have seen them!

Encourage Your Team to Attend Events

The phrase in our business we say over and over again is that “We build our business from event to event.” Events are the BEST way to build belief in yourself, your business opportunity and the profession. And they are also great for team building and building rapport with each other. Events are a great opportunity to spend time with your long distance team. Going to your company and team events is one of the single best investments you can make! You need to become an incredible promoter of the events. Events build the community, culture and passion for your company. Events are the best way to be sure your team is constantly learning.

See you at the next event! Have fun with building your business all over the world. There is nothing like travel to broaden your broaden your perspective and to feed your soul! One of my favorite things about our profession is the places I have been to and the friendships I have met! Here is to your world travels and world teammates!

P.S. I hope my tips on successfully working with a long distance team are of value to you. If you liked this blog post, I think you will love my blog post on How to Stay Persistent and Reach Your Goals.

4 Reasons You Should Take a Vacation

June 26, 2015/1 Comment/in Business, Health & Nutrition, Success, Wealth Building /by Kathleen Deggelman

Taking a Vacation…Greetings from Tahiti!

I am writing from the beautiful beaches of Tahiti! Things have been hectic with work (in a good way), but sometimes you just need to escape to the beach for a little R&R. Prepping for my trip made me realize just how important taking a vacation is! Overworking yourself can hurt your business. Here are my 4 reasons why we should take a vacation this year.

When was the last time you took a vacation? It is important to slow down and make time for yourself. It can be hard to step away from the laptop, or turn your cell phone to “do not disturb”, but it is SO important to try. Taking a vacation can mean taking a trip to Tahiti, or just having a spa weekend staycation. Whatever form the vacation takes, just make sure you are giving yourself a chance to relax.

1. Taking a vacation will actually make you more productive! You may be focusing on how much work won’t be getting done, but if you know you are about to take a week off, you will be surprised to see how much work you can complete before your vacation starts. Having deadlines keeps our work flow going. Never scheduling breaks or vacations just invites you to work the same amount over a longer period of time. Work smarter, not harder. I went through a pile of papers that were nagging at me just before we left. Pushing myself to get through them felt great once they were done!

2. Relationships can suffer when you are over worked! When you work late, you miss out on your friends and family. These relationships are important in life and for home-based businesses. Working from home makes it especially hard to start and end work at reasonable times, but trust me, your friends and family will thank you for it! Take a vacation with your kids or husband – make time for the ones you love. Every year my best girl friends and I take a weekend trip to Napa for a weekend of fun and wine tasting. I don’t always get to see them, so this time is so important to keep those bonds strong.

Why you should take a vacation!

3. Taking time to do something you love is a major stress reliever! After a few hours (or even a day) away, you might come back to your work much more refreshed and ready to accomplish a difficult task. Sometimes, when you get stuck, all you need is to walk away from what you are working on and you might find the answer right in front of you!

4. If you don’t take time off you can burnout! Burning out happens when people do not take breaks from their work. When you are working too many hours a day, you will start to hate the work that you once loved! Think of your long term career – you have a lot of time to accomplish everything you need to. Take a vacation and focus on something else for a week so you can come back to the office refreshed and excited to work. Hope you enjoy these photos of Tahiti. We are having a blast and I expect to come home refreshed and ready to go again!

I hope I have inspired you to put the phone down and take sometime for yourself! Slow down and take a vacation. It is summer – my favorite time of year to take a break! Invite some friends over for a summer party and unwind with the people you love and cherish. And plan that next get away. The beach is calling me….

If you learned something in this article, share it on Facebook! Also, comment with your thoughts below.

Network Marketing Tips: How To Get More Customers

May 8, 2014/2 Comments/in Business, Health & Nutrition, Skin Care, Social Media, Wealth Building /by Kathleen Deggelman

Network Marketing Tips…

Wouldn’t it be great to know how to get more customers?

Here is a question. What if you could show and tell your prospective customers how to use your products and what you like about them? What if there was a way to get your passion across in a duplicatable way – there is. I know videos are a great way to set you apart from the pack. They aren’t always easy to get done and lots of things get in the way but it is so true that the more you do, the easier it becomes. Create a video that shows your prospects how to use your products – whatever that might be – whether it is a health and nutritional product, or a body wrap or a legal service.

You could create a video that highlights the main products and explains when and where they would use it. This short video is a quick example that I created for my company’s product line. You get the idea. It doesn’t have to go into all the ingredients and the features. You will convert more prospects into customers because people feel like they know you. Like they have met you via the video.

Create a video to share how and when you use your products.

How to get more customers …. it’s all about being personal

Just a quick overview with some of the things that you really like about product X. Tell your story. Telling a story will always make your videos more interesting and personal. And it will be easier for you to create them! And remember when you are creating a video – you are talking to ONE person. Make it friendly and accessible. Don’t think about the thousands that might see it. Think about your neighbor across the street – the one you really like that is the perfect customer for your product or service. And above all – don’t try to be perfect. If you do, it may not ever get done. Just start…. It is our quirks that make us interesting anyway. All you have to be is YOU on camera. Make sure you smile more than usual and pump up the energy too. The camera responds well to movement and passion in your voice. I know I need to learn to relax more and smile more, too in front of the camera. All a work in progress!

Once you have this video, then you can start sharing it online. You will have it to send out in emails when prospects inquire. You can post it on Facebook and in Facebook groups. You can write a blog about it. You can publish it on Youtube. Videos are so multi-purpose. And they last. You can use them over and over again. And people love seeing and hearing you share what and why you love your products. And I would expect that you would be one step closer to figuring out how to get more customers.

I hope these network marketing tips are of value to you. Click here for more network marketing tips. If you learned something in this article, share it on Facebook! Also, comment with your thoughts below.